Depending on the intersection, having a pedestrian crossing as part of the cycle can slow the flow of traffic. Instead of having it cycle for pedestrians every time, even when no one is there, the button can interrupt the normal cycle and allow the pedestrian to cross. But most of the time, the intersection will be working optimally for cars, since we're assuming pedestrians are few and far between. I feel like I've seen a lot of these intersections near freeways in strip-mall type areas. Except the way they function currently, that occasional pedestrian has to potentially wait a long time.

> but people manage to get by

You might think so, until you look up the accident rates. https://www.roadsafetyfacility.org/country/thailand

In the Netherlands, bicycles and pedestrians get default priority, and often car lights go green when they detect a car in a loop in time for the car to reach the intersection.

This setup as I understand is preferred because it aligns with their modal priorities, and it is easier and more reliable to detect a heavy metal car than a person or a bicycle.

I also just got back from Bangkok and frankly crossing busy streets is one of the worst aspects of the place, it really makes it very difficult to easily get around on foot and you are really placing a lot of faith that drivers are actually paying attention when you step out onto a main road.

When I worked in Mumbai it took me about two weeks to learn how to cross the street: just walk out into the traffic with your hand up, and everyone goes round you. Everyone ignores the lights, so you just need to take your chances. I got hit by mirrors a couple of times, but since everyone expects to see pedestrians in the road it generally works.

New York though... so often I'm crossing on green and there's some truck edging round the corner into my path, driver making eye contact, daring me to try to make him stop.